With the advent of mass market digital communications and content distribution, many access networks such as wireless networks, cable networks and DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) networks are becoming increasingly more challenged to provide sufficient capacity to handle growing user demands. With the introduction and implementation of high data rate solutions such as, for example, EVDO (Evolution-Data Optimized), HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), and Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), wireless networks are increasingly becoming user capacity constrained. Although wireless network capacity has and continues to increase, such increases have generally not been commensurate with user demand.
The introduction of more efficient technologies, such as MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output), and the deployment of more frequency spectrum, likely will not be sufficient to meet growing digital networking demand. As a result, communication network capacity gains are being outpaced by growing digital networking demand. For example, some industry experts project average wireless device usage of four devices per subscriber, with a mixture of general purpose devices like smart phones and computers along with special purpose devices like music players, electronic readers, connected (e.g., networked) cameras and connected gaming devices. In addition, wire line user service consumption habits are trending toward very high bandwidth applications that can quickly consume the available capacity and degrade overall network service experience if not efficiently managed. Because some components of service provider costs go up with increasing bandwidth, this trend will also negatively impact service provider profits.
Similarly, although wire line access networks, such as cable and DSL, can have higher average capacity per user, wire line user service consumption habits are trending toward very high bandwidth applications that can quickly consume the available capacity and degrade the overall network service experience. Because some components of service provider costs go up with increasing bandwidth, this trend will also negatively impact service provider profits.